On A Cold Night
by AHeartFullOfFeels
Summary: Set around three years before the start of the revolution, Eponine tries to care for he abandoned brother without her father finding out. With someone to help, they might just have a chance. Rated T to be safe, as language, violence, and other things like that may happen in the future. Might (Probably will) have romance later as well.
1. A Helping Hand

The night is dark and cold. Trembling in the shadows is a young girl and a small boy, clutching to each other as if their lives depended on it, which in this case, could.  
"'Ponine, I'm hungry..." murmured the boy, who couldn't be more than 6.  
"I know 'Roche... We can try to find food in the morning." The girl, only 16, said.  
"You could go back back home, ya know." Gavroche said, looking up at Eponine's face.  
"That place isn't a home. And besides, I want to make sure you're safe. And you can't go back. I'd rather sleep on the street with you than be back in that hell." She replied, stroking Gavroche's tangled blonde hair.  
He smiled tiredly, cuddling closer to her.  
"One day, I'll make it up to ya for stayin' wit' me. And we can have money and a home of our own, and we won't go hungry all the time. I'll make sure it happens, I'll get money somehow... one day, we'll be happy 'Ponine... one day..."  
He closed his eyes, still shivering as he fell asleep against Eponine's starved frame. She held him in her arms, teary after his declaration. She didn't hold back the tears as she hugged him. She didn't even notice the footsteps through her silent sobs.  
"Are you ok?"  
She looked up quickly, wiping away her tears, to see a curly-haired boy, a little older than her, probably from a bit of a rich background. He was looking at her and Gavroche with concern.  
"Uh.. yeah. I-I'm f-fine." She stammered through slight fear and cold.  
Instead of leaving like she expected, he took of his jacket and gave it to her, before sitting beside her. She took it, shocked. Instead of putting it on, she used it as a blanket for Gavroche. It covered most of his small frame, reaching to his knees. He watched, a bit of a dark expression behind his bright eyes.  
"I'm Courfeyrac." He said, offering his hand.  
She stared at it, before looking back at Gavroche. He awkwardly put his hand back down, but was still unfazed.  
"What's your name?" He asked.  
"E-Eponine. And t-this is Gavroche..."  
Courfeyrac smiled sadly, looking at Gavroche.  
"Poor little guy... how old is he?"  
"6."  
"And you?"  
"16"  
"Orphans?"  
"No... I wish we were."  
He stared at her with a look of confusion.  
"My parents... are bad people..." she said simply.  
"Oh..."  
"So you guys live on the streets?"  
"'Roche was abandoned by my father... and I'll join him at times."  
Courfeyrac nodded slowly, then stood up.  
"Would you like to take shelter in my apartment?"

She stared at him, not believing what she heard.  
"W-what?"  
"Would you like to live in my apartment? I have enough room for the two of you. I took in a boy a while ago, and he just moved out. I'll guess you two won't mind sharing a room."  
She stared at him with a shocked expression.  
"You can't be serious...?"  
"Of course I am." He said, completely serious.  
She slowly, numbly nodded. He held out his hand to her.  
"Then come on, it's freezing out here."  
She gently shook Gavroche awake.  
"Mornin' already?" He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.  
"No, monsieur Courfeyrac," she gestured to him, "is allowing us to stay with him. We are leaving."

He stood up and looked up at Courfeyrac, who was smiling at him. Courfeyrac helped Eponine up and they started off. Gavroche chatted with Courfeyrac the entire walk, while Eponine trailed along, smiling at her little brother's happiness.


	2. The Next Morning

_"You stupid, worthless piece of shit! I tell you to do one thing, and you messing it up nearly got us caught by the cop!" _  
_Eponine winced as her father slapped her.  
It left a mark, she could feel it stinging.  
She glaced over at her mother, who glared at her then turned away.  
__**What happened to the loving parents she had once known?  
**__She thought about the days of her happy, spoiled childhood as her father continued to yell and beat her.  
__She eventually found herself on the ground, wanting to slip out of consciousness.  
__She closed her eyes._

Eponine opened her eyes to find herself in another room, unfamiliar. She looked around at the empty room. Something stirred against her. She looked down to see Gavroche opening his eyes.  
"It wasn't a dream then! Courfeyrac really took us in!" He said, realizing happily.  
She nodded.  
"Why don't you stay here and rest more. God knows you need it. I need to talk to him."  
Gavroche nodded, yawning and going back to sleep.

She walked out of the room, cafefully closing the door back. She stepped out to see Courfeyrac. He looked up at her from where he was sitting.  
"Good morning!" He said cheerfully.  
"Morning.. I need to talk to you."  
"Alright. Go ahead."  
"I'm not staying..."  
"What? Why not?"  
"For everyone's safety, I need to go back to my father. He'll find me if I stay away for too long. He wouldn't be afraid to kill you or Gavroche, so I need to leave. I'll return sometimes..."

Courfeyrac looked horrified.

"He won't look for Gavroche. Please, I don't want him to be alone on the street again. Can you keep him here, watch him when I'm gone? Please, I beg of you."

Courfeyrac saw the desperation in her eyes.

"Of course I will. But will you be safe with your father?"  
She didn't answer, turning her eyes to the ground.  
"I can help you, if you ever need it. Don't feel a burden. You can come whenever you want or need."  
She looked back up at him.  
There was real concern in his eyes, which she had never seen, not for her.  
"Can you tell 'Roche I left, and that I'll come back?"  
"Course. Be careful..."  
She smiled, then walked out. He went to the window and saw her walking cautiously down the street until she dissapeared out of sight.

Gavroche awoke a second time to a cold and empty bed.  
He looked around, sitting up and climbing out of bed. He quietly opened the door and peered outside.  
"'Ponine?"  
Courfeyrac heard him; He went to Gavroche.  
"How'd you sleep?" He asked the little boy.  
"Alright. Bed was real nice... where's 'Ponine?"  
"She's... gone. She said she had to go to her father–"  
"WHAT?! No, she can't! She said she would stay with me this time... I'll go after her!"  
Gavroche ran towards the front door, before being stopped by Courfeyrac.  
"I promised Eponine I'd watch you. She said she would come back soon."  
Gavroche struggled for a moment to get past him, finally giving up.  
"How soon?"  
"Er... she didn't say..."  
Gavroche nodded. Courfeyrac patted his back gently.  
"While we are waiting for her to come back, how would you like to meet some of my friends?"  
"Will they be mean to me?"  
"No, of course not. Why would you think that?"  
"Sometimes people will be mean to poor people like me."

Courfeyrac felt his heart tug at Gavroche's words, and at the simplicity they were said.  
"They'll love you, I'm sure."  
"No one has ever loved me before, 'cept 'Ponine..."  
Courfeyrac felt a strong urge to hug the boy. He didn't though, knowing the boy wouldn't be that trusting of him yet.  
"Well, I'll make sure you feel loved and happy here."  
"Ok," Gavroche said with a smile, "Let's meet your friends then."

While they were walking to the Musian, Courfeyrac was telling Gavroche about the Amis, describing each one.  
"They– We– fight for the rights of the people. Try to help the poor people live better lives. You know, you could help us a lot probably. Not many of us have had to live on the streets, we are middle class mostly. There's a couple of rich breakaways, Enjolras and Jehan. Enjolras is our leader, very passionate about the revolution. He's also one of my best friends."  
He went on talking about everyone. By the time they reached the Musian, Gavroche knew at least the basics of each one.  
Courfeyrac lead him up to the back of the Cafe, and up a stairway. He heard laughter and chatter from upstairs.

"Hello everyone, we've gotten a new visitor."


	3. Twists in the Road

Gavroche could feel the gaze of every boy there turn to him.  
There was silence for a moment, and he started to feel uncomfortable.  
Courfeyrac broke the silence.  
"This is Gavroche. He lives on the street, but I have taken him and his older sister in. Eponine is the sister's name, and I have promised her to watch Gavroche while she is gone." He explained quickly.  
There was a chorus of "Hello Gavroche" and a storm of questions.  
Courfeyrac could see he was growing more and more uncomfortable, to the point of almost scared.  
"Alright, alright. Give him some breathing room, you're going to scare him." He said, standing in front of him protectively.  
Everyone quieted down after that, going back to what they were doing, but listening to Gavroche as he started to answer some of the questions.  
"I was abandoned by my father when I was little, and I've been livin' on the street by myself for the most part. Sometimes 'Ponine will stay the night with me, but she still has to live with our father."  
"Why?" A few of the boys asked.  
"Well... he makes 'er..." he answered, his eyes dark.  
"What do you mean?" Courfeyrac asked him worriedly.  
"He'll find her with his gang. They are criminals, thieves, and murderers. He makes her help them, keep watch an' stuff... She could be killed if she ran away, the only reason she hasn't. She doesn't want to die and leave me alone."  
Courfeyrac felt his heart break a little, and he could tell by the looks on the other boys' faces, they felt it too.  
"My god..."  
"Damn..."  
"Poor kids..."  
Remarks like that rang around the room, with a squeak from Jehan.  
"Will she be safe now? God, had I known, I would never let her go..." Courfeyrac asked, sounding guilty.  
Gavroche slowly shook his head.  
"She never is. She won't admit it, she won't ask for help."  
"Should we go help her?"  
"No, she would probably kill ya if I was there, if mum or dad didn't get ya."  
Everyone dropped the subject after that, with lingering fears or worries of various levels.

By the time they returned home, Gavroche had talked with each one of the boys. He could tell that they liked him, it made him happy.  
The set was setting as they reached the apartment, and Gavroche was worn out from the day. Courfeyrac gave him a hearty dinner and then he went to bed. Courfeyrac checked on him 10 minutes later to find him fast asleep.  
There was a knock on the door.  
He opened the door to see Feuilly.  
"Feuilly? What are–"  
"We found Eponine." He interrupted.  
"What?"  
"She's hurt...its bad."  
"Where is she?" Courfeyrac asked quickly.  
"Musian–"  
Courfeyrac ran out before he could finish, shouting "Watch Gavroche!"

He ran, as fast as he could. He reached the Musian in less than 10 minutes, panting as he reached the top of the stairs.  
He saw Joly leaning over a girl's body. Combeferre went to Courfeyrac, patting his shoulder.  
"Bossuet stumbled on her, she was laying on the ground. She was saying Gavroche's name, found out it was her."  
"How was she hurt? How bad is it?"  
"... She was stabbed by her father... It's not completely fatal, but its bad."  
Courfeyrac sank to his knees, shaking, pushing his hair off of his sweat-covered forehead.  
He sat there for a moment before stumbling back up and nearly running to Eponine.  
She was trying not to scream or cry as Joly patched her up. She saw Courfeyrac and she quickly grabbed his hand.  
"Gav–Gavroche... Is he alright? HE'S NOT HERE IS HE?"  
"No, I left him at home with Feuilly watching him." He said reassuringly.  
Eponine sighed.  
"Good... I wouldn't want him to see me like this..."  
"I'm done. Nothing else I can do now." Joly said, standing up straight.  
"Will she be alright?"  
"She's stable now, but I can't tell now..."  
Courfeyrac nodded. He looked at Eponine worriedly.  
"What happened?"  
Eponine didn't answer, looking away from him.  
"Gavroche told us about your father. We can help you..."  
Eponine could hear desperation in his voice. She looked back at him.  
"No," she said as forcefully as she could, "he'll _KILL_ you. If I die, I want you to watch Gavroche. I know that this is a lot to ask of you, especially since we just met. And really, there's no reason why you should listen to me and there's no reason you should be here... Why are you here?"  
"Because I am worried about you. Even if we just met, I still want to help you."  
His voice was gentle and comforting, it surprised Eponine.  
"You're freezing." Courfeyrac said, reminding her that she was still clutching his hand.  
She quickly let go.  
"What do I tell 'Roche?"  
"Don't... Not yet. When I get better..."  
"Alright... I'll keep him away and happy. You needn't worry about a thing, just get better. I'll get one of the boys to watch him and I'll visit you tomorrow. When you are able to move, I'll bring you back home."  
She nodded tiredly and closed her eyes. Courfeyrac stayed for a moment, then quietly got up and left, careful not to wake her.


	4. Prayer from an Atheist

Courfeyrac could only curse under his breath and stare at the ground in front of him as he walked back to his apartment.  
When he arrived, he found Feuilly sitting in a chair at the table, staring up at the ceiling in thought. When he heard the door open, he looked at Courfeyrac.  
"How is she?"  
Courfeyrac sighed.  
"She's stable. There's honestly no telling if she'll make it, but I'll do all that I can to make sure she does... How's Roche?"  
Feuilly looked over to the room Gavroche was sleeping.  
"He's still sleeping. It's been quiet. It's sick... It was so peaceful, and he doesn't even know..."  
"I know... We can't tell him though. Eponine said not to tell him until she was better, and I agree. Him worrying will only make matters worse." Courfeyrac said, pulling up a second chair.  
"I agree as well... What is he? 7? 8? Still young. It would be hard on him... Especially because Eponine is really the only person he has." Feuilly agreed.  
"He's 6, actually."  
Feuilly looked a little surprised.  
"Eponine is the only person he really trusts. He knows I am friendly, but I still think he wouldn't trust me well without Eponine, not as a caretaker." Courfeyrac continued.  
"Caretaker?"  
"Eponine asked me to take care of Gavroche if she..." he trailed off, looking away.  
Feuilly nodded in understanding.  
"Thank you for watching him on such short notice, by the way." Courfeyrac said after a moment of silence.  
"It was no problem... Well, I'd better head home."  
Courfeyrac nodded and said goodbye as Feuilly walked out.

He remained in his seat, staring at the floor.  
He put his arms on the table.  
He sighed.  
He bowed his head.

"If there is a God above, don't let Eponine die... She is young and potential, she has her whole life to live still. She has a little brother, the only thing he has. If there is a God, then make her father's life hell for doing this, for everything he has done to these poor innocent kids. Please, I beg you. Don't let Eponine die. Let her heal soon and come back to Gavroche before he even has to know. Let her live. Let her live... Let her live, and come back to me..."


End file.
